Executive Director Jim Cherry
ou’re reading this in May, and I
hope your flying time has
increased with the longer days and
warmer weather.
As I write this, the 55th annual Toledo
Weak Signals R/C Expo has just concluded.
Although it’s the first week of April, snow
pelted us on the way home.
The Toledo Weak Signals has a long
history of support to the AMA Scholarship
Fund. The club has donated more than
$70,000 throughout the years from its annual
raffle held during the show.
This year was special because the club
purchased 10 bricks in the AMA Walk of
Fame to honor the 10 founding members of
the club. It was my pleasure to present one of
the founding members, Joe David, with the
letter announcing the bricks’ purchase during
the awards ceremony at the show.
If you are interested in honoring a club
member or family member at the AMA
Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana, information
can be found under “AMA Programs, AMA
Walk of Fame” at www.modelaircraft.org/
brickad.aspx or call Angie Martin at (765)
287-1256, extension 261.
If you’re in the area this time next year,
Toledo is a must for every modeler. During the
show, AMA is busy staffing an information
and museum store retail booth. We also
conduct a number of committee meetings.
Y
The Safety Committee, chaired by Jim
Rice, District VIII vice president, the
Electronic Technology Committee, chaired
by Peter Young, and the Insurance
Committee, chaired by Keith Sievers, all met
and worked on a wide variety of topics
during the three-day show. Recommendations
and proposed actions from these groups will
be forwarded to the Executive Council for
review and approval.
The Academy also held a press conference
at the show announcing a $152,500 donation
from the Claude McCullough Estate and the
official launching of the inaugural AMA
national membership drive: Bringing Modelers
Together Begins With You. More details can
be found on the AMA Web site at www.mod
elaircraft.org/membershipdrive.aspx.
I recently attended an American Society of
Association Executives (ASAE) meeting in
Washington D.C. It was one of those quick
trips where you fly in early in the morning,
attend briefing meetings into the early
evening, plan visits on the hill the next day,
and leave on a red-eye flight that night.
My father, a Pearl Harbor survivor and
Korean War veteran, is buried in the
Arlington National Cemetery. If time
allows, I always try to visit his grave when
I’m in town.
Finishing my visits early, I struck out for
the airport and a visit with dad before
heading back to Indiana on an earlier-thanplanned
flight. The taxi cab driver waited
patiently while I walked the correct number
of rows back in section 19 of the cemetery.
Time had taken its toll on his headstone;
the black letters were not nearly as bright as I
remembered them to be from my last visit.
When I go to Arlington, I have mixed
emotions. I think of those who served in our
armed forces and gave the ultimate sacrifice,
and of others, such as my dad, who served
and went on to live a full life.
Standing at the ticket counter at the
airport, I heard an announcement. A group of
150 World War II veterans were arriving at
Let us remember what the real important
things are in life the next time we think
we’re inconvenienced.
View From HQ
Jim Cherry
Executive Director
[email protected]
Gate 28. They were part of a program to let
those of “The Greatest Generation” have an
opportunity to see the new World War II
Memorial in Washington D.C. The
announcement mentioned that if you had
some time between flights … I was standing
at Gate 27.
There were red balloons and banners
everywhere. The anthem of each branch of
service played as I walked up to the gate. A
woman dressed in red, white, and blue handed
me a small American flag. Utilized to honor
VIPs and retiring airline pilots on their last
flights, fire trucks formed an arch of water as
the airplane taxied down the terminal way.
A luggage cart, bearing the flags of all the
services, was leading the way. The ground
crews were all waving flags as the airplane
taxied to the gate.
It takes a long time to unload 150 World
War II veterans. The most mobile of them
came out first, followed by those with canes,
then those using walkers, and finally the ones
being pushed in wheelchairs.
A good-size crowd had gathered at the
gate by that time, and as each veteran
appeared, another round of applause rose
from the group. It is not a pretty sight to see a
grown man cry, but there weren’t many dry
eyes at Gate 28 that day.
Let us remember what the real important
things are in life the next time we think we’re
inconvenienced. MA
In the spirit of flight.
Above: Gary Fitch and Rich Hanson
answered questions and offered
complimentary copies of Park Pilot
magazines.
Right: AMA staff members Ilona Maine
(L) and Rob Kurek (center) staff the
booth during the show.
Andy Argenio converses with Ron and
Joan Liska. Joan is a member of the
AMA Insurance Committee.
184 MODEL AVIATION
06sig6.QXD 4/24/09 8:43 AM Page 184
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/06
Page Numbers: 184